The White Snake

Meet the voices

• Narrator · 旁白 — Tells the story that Hangzhou has loved for a thousand years.
• Bai Suzhen · 白素贞 — A white snake who spent a thousand years learning magic — and chose to spend it on a kind man.
• Xu Xian · 许仙 — A gentle young pharmacist who lends his umbrella to a stranger in the rain.
• Xiaoqing · 小青 — A quick-tempered green snake spirit who becomes Bai Suzhen's loyal maid.
• Fahai · 法海 — The stern old abbot of Jinshan Temple, who can see what others cannot.
• Jiaorong · 许娇容 — Xu Xian's warm, practical elder sister, who raised him after their parents died.
• Li Gongfu · 李公甫 — Jiaorong's husband, a plain, steady county constable who goes by the rules.
• the magistrate · 知县 — The fair and kind county magistrate in Hangzhou.
• Mr. Wu · 吴员外 — A kind old pharmacist in Suzhou and Mr. Wang's good friend, who takes Xu in.
• the Queen Mother · 王母娘娘 — The queen of the Heavenly Palace, who tells Bai about her debt.
• a god from heaven · 天神 — A guardian god who stops Bai on her way to Hangzhou and makes her swear.
• Deer Boy · 鹿童 — The Old Immortal's young servant, a deer spirit, who guards the gate.
• Crane Boy · 鹤童 — The Old Immortal's other servant, a crane spirit who flies as a huge white crane.
• the Old Immortal of the South Pole · 南极仙翁 — The kindly old god of long life, who grows a magic herb in his palace in the clouds.
• the young monk · 小和尚 — A young monk of Jinshan Temple who comes asking for gifts.
• Kuixing · 魁星 — The god of exams, who carries a big writing brush.
• Guanyin · 观音 — The kind bodhisattva who brings Bai to the Queen Mother in the Heavenly Palace.
• Mengjiao · 许梦蛟 — Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian's son at sixteen, a brave, bright young man who studies hard.
• Mengjiao · 许梦蛟 — Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian's son as a boy of seven: bright, brave and quick to cry.
• Bilian · 碧莲 — Jiaorong and Li Gongfu's daughter.
• the emperor · 皇帝 — The emperor, who rules from his throne in the capital.
• a classmate · 同学 — A schoolboy who taunts Mengjiao.

25 chapters in 5 parts

Part 1: An Umbrella in the Rain 西湖借伞

Part 2: The Magic Herb 仙草

Part 3: Jinshan Temple 金山寺

Part 4: The Golden Bowl 金钵

Part 5: Mother and Son 母子

Key words in The White Snake

• 蛇 shé: snake
• 伞 sǎn: umbrella
• 塔 tǎ: pagoda
• 师父 shī fu: master (said to a monk)
• 妻子 qī zi: wife
• 丈夫 zhàng fu: husband
• 药店 yào diàn: pharmacy
• 端午节 duān wǔ jié: Dragon Boat Festival
• 剑 jiàn: sword
• 压 yā: to press

Behind the story

The Legend of the White Snake (白蛇传) is one of China's Four Great Folk Legends. It grew over centuries of storytelling and opera: Feng Menglong wrote it down as a short story in 1624, and later tellers added the scenes everyone knows, like the flood at Jinshan, the Broken Bridge and the son who comes to the pagoda.

This graded adaptation follows the old written versions over 25 chapters: the order of the Precious Scroll of Leifeng Pagoda (雷峰宝卷), the ending of a novel from 1806, and Feng Menglong's story. It is Hangzhou's story. Bai Suzhen meets Xu Xian in the rain at West Lake, the two meet again on the Broken Bridge (断桥), and the tale ends at Leifeng Pagoda (雷峰塔), which you can still visit.

Did you know?

• The real Leifeng Pagoda collapsed in 1924. The pagoda visitors climb today was rebuilt in 2002.
• The realgar wine (雄黄酒) in chapter 5 is an old Dragon Boat Festival custom, meant to keep snakes and insects away.
• Fahai's temple, Jinshan Temple (金山寺), still stands in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu.